Database Develop

[Q] bundling system apps into pre-existing custom roms?

I'm wanting to install the current version of the AOKP rom onto my note, but i noticed (after I flashed - boh) that there's an FC problem with the included launchers on that rom.
In the instructions they suggest using ADB to push novalauncher's apk file out to your device, but that seems needlessly complex to me when I could just (in theory) bundle the app into the .zip before I flash.
Is there any reason I can't insert the nova.apk into the AOKP.zip file (in /system/app as i understand it), zip it back up, flash the .zip as per normal AOKP instructions and proceed on my merry way?
Is it that simple? Do I need to mess around with chmodding the apk file or should the fact that it's in /system do that stuff for me?
FWIW I have tried this, but got some problems with having lost root between flashes (stupid ICS root) and that caused me some problems and a lot of high-heartrate moments trying to flash back to a working RocketRom build.
I'd rather do it 'properly' with accurate information about what I'm doing before I try again.
Appreciate the assistance.

I am to faceing the same problem but on other device
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium

sideways86 said:
I'm wanting to install the current version of the AOKP rom onto my note, but i noticed (after I flashed - boh) that there's an FC problem with the included launchers on that rom.
In the instructions they suggest using ADB to push novalauncher's apk file out to your device, but that seems needlessly complex to me when I could just (in theory) bundle the app into the .zip before I flash.
Is there any reason I can't insert the nova.apk into the AOKP.zip file (in /system/app as i understand it), zip it back up, flash the .zip as per normal AOKP instructions and proceed on my merry way?
Is it that simple? Do I need to mess around with chmodding the apk file or should the fact that it's in /system do that stuff for me?
FWIW I have tried this, but got some problems with having lost root between flashes (stupid ICS root) and that caused me some problems and a lot of high-heartrate moments trying to flash back to a working RocketRom build.
I'd rather do it 'properly' with accurate information about what I'm doing before I try again.
Appreciate the assistance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I open the ROM zip up and add .apks to the /system/app/ folder all the time..I also delete the ones I know I can and won't use..
There are some apps that won't work like this but its very uncommon..For example I can never include quickpic I always have to manually install it from the market.

sideways86 said:
I'm wanting to install the current version of the AOKP rom onto my note, but i noticed (after I flashed - boh) that there's an FC problem with the included launchers on that rom.
In the instructions they suggest using ADB to push novalauncher's apk file out to your device, but that seems needlessly complex to me when I could just (in theory) bundle the app into the .zip before I flash.
Is there any reason I can't insert the nova.apk into the AOKP.zip file (in /system/app as i understand it), zip it back up, flash the .zip as per normal AOKP instructions and proceed on my merry way?
Is it that simple? Do I need to mess around with chmodding the apk file or should the fact that it's in /system do that stuff for me?
FWIW I have tried this, but got some problems with having lost root between flashes (stupid ICS root) and that caused me some problems and a lot of high-heartrate moments trying to flash back to a working RocketRom build.
I'd rather do it 'properly' with accurate information about what I'm doing before I try again.
Appreciate the assistance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well my problem is solved
Check the app name of apps ur adding they should not include space in them ( like xda primium.apk) if there r space then remove the space (like xdaprimium.apk) it should work fine
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium

MrDSL said:
I open the ROM zip up and add .apks to the /system/app/ folder all the time..I also delete the ones I know I can and won't use..
There are some apps that won't work like this but its very uncommon..For example I can never include quickpic I always have to manually install it from the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man.
One more question - as far as launcher apps go, is there any way to set the default launcher in the .zip file?
If I delete the pre-existing launcher app from the rom in question and add nova.apk should it set itself as the default launcher app automatically?

sideways86 said:
Thanks man.
One more question - as far as launcher apps go, is there any way to set the default launcher in the .zip file?
If I delete the pre-existing launcher app from the rom in question and add nova.apk should it set itself as the default launcher app automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no you will prbably need to makea script to get it to work

How can i make the required script??
plz help
---------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 PM ----------
And ive heard "the TouchWiz launcher included in the rom has hardware acceleration for better graphics performance while the launchers we use like GO LAUNCHER etc depends totally on cpu. They consume cpu power only and no GPU"
IS THAT SO??????????????
that would not mean a good thing
cause GO launcher or n other launcher are way better than Stock TWiz launcher.

I don't want someone to do all the work for me, but if anyone could direct me to some kind of resource with the relevant syntax and such that'd be amazing.

sideways86 said:
If I delete the pre-existing launcher app from the rom in question and add nova.apk should it set itself as the default launcher app automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can delete any launcher in the original zip and replace it with Nova and it will work. You don't need any script to do that, as suggested before.

thanks chasmodo - this worked flawlessly.

[MOD] Front Facing Video fix for AOSP builds

In all of the current AOSP builds, the forward facing camera video fails because the information is pulled from msm8960-common. We share almost everything in common with the other devices, but our forward facing camera is of lower resolution so the base settings do not work with ff video on the xt907.
This is a relatively simple xml edit that I have played around with. I have tested on CM10.1 rc and CM10.2 nightly with the stock camera and hangouts video (it starts ok with hangouts, but I'm not where I can have a conversation with anyone right now so ymmv). It should work on all of the aosp based builds.
To apply use a root enabled file explorer, in directory...... delete your existing media_profiles.xml (or add .bak extension). copy this file, remove the .txt extension, and set permissions to rw-r-r then reboot.
I will try and get a flashable zip up later if anyone wants it. That way, you can simply flash it after flashing your rom of choice if you are running nightlies or like to try new builds often.
Let me know if it works or if anything looks like it needs tweaking.
********Update********
it may be necessary to clear data on camera/gallery app after updating the media_profiles.xml file
also adding flashable zip file

ej1911 said:
In all of the current AOSP builds, the forward facing camera video fails because the information is pulled from msm8960-common. We share almost everything in common with the other devices, but our forward facing camera is of lower resolution so the base settings do not work with ff video on the xt907.
This is a relatively simple xml edit that I have played around with. I have tested on CM10.1 rc and CM10.2 nightly with the stock camera and hangouts video (it starts ok with hangouts, but I'm not where I can have a conversation with anyone right now so ymmv). It should work on all of the aosp based builds.
To apply use a root enabled file explorer, in directory...... delete your existing media_profiles.xml (or add .bak extension). copy this file, remove the .txt extension, and set permissions to rw-r-r then reboot.
I will try and get a flashable zip up later if anyone wants it. That way, you can simply flash it after flashing your rom of choice if you are running nightlies or like to try new builds often.
Let me know if it works or if anything looks like it needs tweaking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm, having some troubles getting the file to download - just showing up as a text in my browser....
edit: just copied to a notepad, saved it, and e-mail it to myself. downloaded it, placed it in the "system/etc" folder, changed permissions, rebooted.... but no dice for me, still get a force close. wondering if it has to do with me being on AOKP, since you said this is for AOSP ROMs....

jco23 said:
hmm, having some troubles getting the file to download - just showing up as a text in my browser....
edit: just copied to a notepad, saved it, and e-mail it to myself. downloaded it, placed it in the "system/etc" folder, changed permissions, rebooted.... but no dice for me, still get a force close. wondering if it has to do with me being on AOKP, since you said this is for AOSP ROMs....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easiest way is to right click the file and save as.
Couple of questions. Which app is force closing, is it the camera? and Which AOKP are you on? I have most of them downloaded. I will try to flash it and see if I can figure it out.

ej1911 said:
Easiest way is to right click the file and save as.
Couple of questions. Which app is force closing, is it the camera? and Which AOKP are you on? I have most of them downloaded. I will try to flash it and see if I can figure it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, the official message is that the gallery has stop responding (same as before) - but this happens when I attempt to launch camcorder in front-facing mode - so yes, it is camera, but I think android refers to it as "gallery".
i believe that video calls for hangouts works fine though (but I'll test again tonight).
I'm on the "unofficial" AOKP ROM

jco23 said:
well, the official message is that the gallery has stop responding (same as before) - but this happens when I attempt to launch camcorder in front-facing mode - so yes, it is camera, but I think android refers to it as "gallery".
i believe that video calls for hangouts works fine though (but I'll test again tonight).
I'm on the "unofficial" AOKP ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, thanks. You might have to clear the data in the gallery app, I'm not sure. I got the video camera to work on the AOKP 4.3 9/11 nightly, but I flashed the update zip that I made to test it and it was a fresh install. I couldn't do much testing though because I got the AOSP keyboard is force closing problem.
I will update the OP in a little bit with the flashable zip file.

ej1911 said:
OK, thanks. You might have to clear the data in the gallery app, I'm not sure. I got the video camera to work on the AOKP 4.3 9/11 nightly, but I flashed the update zip that I made to test it and it was a fresh install. I couldn't do much testing though because I got the AOSP keyboard is force closing problem.
I will update the OP in a little bit with the flashable zip file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
got it working now.
i downloaded the file this time, e-mailed it to myself, copied it to the "system/etc" folder, changed permissions, renamed the org as .bak, renamed the new file as .xml, then rebooted. after reboot, I went into the camera app and once again got a force close. however, I tried playing around with the settings "record mode" from 1020 to 480, and then went back to FF camcorder, and it recorded! I then changed the "record mode" back to 1080, and FF camcorder worked just fine.
so I think you are correct, perhaps one needs to clear cache/data in the gallery prior to use.
thanks for the tip and the mod! nice work!
to resolve your AOSP keyboard force closing problem, try wiping system before installing the update. this worked for me.

Bit of thread necro, I know... But it's for a good cause.
Have you pushed this fix to CM? I am looking into what exactly needs to change in the source, I suppose we can fix this somehow from CM, and then all of the ROM's will be fixed (assuming they all update with the fix )

The flashable zip worked perfect for me. Thank you so much!
---
Sent using my Droid Razor M- THE BEST SMARTPHONE ON THE PLANET!
Heard about Kettlebells... learn more: http://synergykettlebell.com

arrrghhh said:
Bit of thread necro, I know... But it's for a good cause.
Have you pushed this fix to CM? I am looking into what exactly needs to change in the source, I suppose we can fix this somehow from CM, and then all of the ROM's will be fixed (assuming they all update with the fix )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Argggh merged it into cm code. All it should flow to all ROMs as they sync and build.
Sent from my XT907 using xda app-developers app

[Q] getting stock rom swype on cm7.2

Hi,
I found a topic which helped people to get their original stock rom swype back in their custom rom.
I tried the same but it didn't work for me. One part of the process is checking in build.prop that the ro.product.brand is the same in the original stock rom and in the custom rom. Which is so for my custom rom and the stock rom i've downloaded.
However, I saw that the build.prop from the stock rom uses GT-S5830 as type for the other lines like:
ro.product.model=GT-S5830
ro.product.name=GT-S5830
ro.product.device=GT-S5830
ro.product.board=GT-S5830
and that my custom rom has cooper there instead of GT-S5830. I added the lines above to my build.prop, hoping that this would solve the issue.
Unfortenately, it doesn't. When I select swype, there's no language available. I've checked in the apk file and alle the language files are there so it seems that swype blocks usage of it.
When I select swype, I get this message:
"the swype package you installed is configured for another device and will operate with limited functionality."
I'm using cm 7.2. the ultimate and extracted swype from this sammobile stock rom:
S5830XWKTQ_S5830VITKT2_S5830XWKT8_HOME
Can someone tell me/help me with isolating the problem? Why does swype still not recognise my device as GT-S5830?

DutchArjo said:
Hi,
I found a topic which helped people to get their original stock rom swype back in their custom rom.
I tried the same but it didn't work for me. One part of the process is checking in build.prop that the ro.product.brand is the same in the original stock rom and in the custom rom. Which is so for my custom rom and the stock rom i've downloaded.
However, I saw that the build.prop from the stock rom uses GT-S5830 as type for the other lines like:
ro.product.model=GT-S5830
ro.product.name=GT-S5830
ro.product.device=GT-S5830
ro.product.board=GT-S5830
and that my custom rom has cooper there instead of GT-S5830. I added the lines above to my build.prop, hoping that this would solve the issue.
Unfortenately, it doesn't. When I select swype, there's no language available. I've checked in the apk file and alle the language files are there so it seems that swype blocks usage of it.
When I select swype, I get this message:
"the swype package you installed is configured for another device and will operate with limited functionality."
I'm using cm 7.2. the ultimate and extracted swype from this sammobile stock rom:
S5830XWKTQ_S5830VITKT2_S5830XWKT8_HOME
Can someone tell me/help me with isolating the problem? Why does swype still not recognise my device as GT-S5830?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
www.swype.com/
Install it from Google Play Store, you also can try Swiftkey

Viper The Ripper said:
www.swype.com/
Install it from Google Play Store, you also can try Swiftkey
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
installing from google play (or even amazon app store) would be an option when they would add PayPal support to pay for the app.
As long as I need to have a credit card, I cannot buy anything from Google Play or Amazon App store.
Therefore, I am hoping there is a solution for the difference in the build.prop file...
perhaps to include it in the zip file from the custom rom, but Im affraid the problem persists as the build.prop is still different.
I still hope the builde of this rom can send me his stock swype and libswypecore.so files...
Or is there another solution for this? (adjusting build.prop and inserting the lines with GT-S5830 was not one)

Debloat MIUI ROM

Hello
There are some system apps I won't ever use, so it would make sense to not even install them.
Is it possible to debloat a MIUI ROM (for example the official chinese dev ROM) by editing the content of the zip file prior flashing?
Is there a "safe list" with apps that can be removed without causing instabilities?

Guojun said:
Hello
There are some system apps I won't ever use, so it would make sense to not even install them.
Is it possible to debloat a MIUI ROM (for example the official chinese dev ROM) by editing the content of the zip file prior flashing?
Is there a "safe list" with apps that can be removed without causing instabilities?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just install xiaomi.eu rom. Basically it's a debloated chinese rom with european languages added.

Can anyone tell me how can i run Google Apps in my mi5 chaina dev Android 7 based rom. I can't flash gapps. In twrp it's asking device decrypt password. Any other way to flash gapps or some other way?

aipbd said:
Can anyone tell me how can i run Google Apps in my mi5 chaina dev Android 7 based rom. I can't flash gapps. In twrp it's asking device decrypt password. Any other way to flash gapps or some other way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use playstore installer, look on internet.... after that download app you need

Guojun said:
Hello
There are some system apps I won't ever use, so it would make sense to not even install them.
Is it possible to debloat a MIUI ROM (for example the official chinese dev ROM) by editing the content of the zip file prior flashing?
Is there a "safe list" with apps that can be removed without causing instabilities?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm attaching my personal miui debloater, it is recovery flashable. look the updater-script file for details of what i normally remove, it is pretty self-explanatory I'll maybe improve/increase list of removed apps later on, but it is already a good start..
if you need gapps, be sure to comment out rows 23-24 and most of the rows from 55 up before flashing.
for best effect, flash this upon clean flash, immediately after flashing miui rom zip
cheers

FcukBloat said:
if you need gapps, be sure to comment out rows 23-24 and most of the rows from 55 up before flashing.
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found your script very interesting, I wanted to do something like that... the commented lines are apps that become a problem if you uninstall them? For example /system/app/VoicePrintService, /system/data-app/Music lines are disabled.
In any case thanks for the file it is a good start.

at a certain point i got the phone not booting anymore because of too aggressive debloat, so yes i restored some apps i thought could be related to get rid of bootloop and didn't have time to determine exactly which one was the culprit..
but music no, you can remove it if you want, but i liked it so i preferred to keep it

FcukBloat said:
I'm attaching my personal miui debloater, it is recovery flashable. look the updater-script file for details of what i normally remove, it is pretty self-explanatory I'll maybe improve/increase list of removed apps later on, but it is already a good start..
if you need gapps, be sure to comment out rows 23-24 and most of the rows from 55 up before flashing.
for best effect, flash this upon clean flash, immediately after flashing miui rom zip
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, any update version of yours. Personally, I do also remove several things and some even make some function not working (e.g. scrolling screen capture not working anymore). Not sure which one make it fail, though. Too many aggressive debloat.

[Q] Best way to debloat a stock ROM?

It looks like the two debloated stock-based ROMs that are available on XDA are no longer active. Neither have been updated for the April release.
Does anybody know of another stock-based, debloated ROM or have tips on how to do it yourself?
Thanks!

Flash a small opengapps package.

snowrelyt said:
Flash a small opengapps package.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock ROMs have gapps built-in. No need to flash anything.

MrBrady said:
Stock ROMs have gapps built-in. No need to flash anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a small gapps package will debloat the ROM which is what you are asking for

snowrelyt said:
Flashing a small gapps package will debloat the ROM which is what you are asking for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I didn't know that.

Root explorer, give appropriate permissions, browse to \system\apps and \system\priv\apps, delete un-needed files. Just becareful as it can make your rom unbootable if you delete the wrong files. Use something like this as a guide to know what files are safe and what files are not, for deletion: http://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-g3/433412-large-bloatware-list-safe-remove-lg-g3.html
There is also Windows based programs to debloat android phones: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/debloater-remove-carrier-bloat-t2998294 . Also you can just use a debloated rom like those from Skydragon, Tupac4u, DanvH, etc. for stock roms. AOSP or Lineage roms are also debloated and you can pick the PICO opengapps to install with these custom roms. Velocity (AOSP) rom for example is 250 MB for and once flashed with PICO opengapps, is very slim, fast, and debloated.

MrBrady said:
...Does anybody know of another stock-based, debloated ROM or have tips on how to do it yourself...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2294909/
Thread for tools and instructions to extract files from img-files on a PC.
I am using the lite stock ROM of Danvdh and replaced files in the system folder of the 'march-zip' with the newest system files extracted​ from the factory image. As follows:
0. Full backup in twrp-recovery,
1. Extracted 'system.img' from N6F26Y factory image.
2. Extracted all files from 'system.img'.
3. Delete not used system-files/apps from system/app and -priv-app (debloating).
4. Added backed up files of the Nova launcher and rro layers.
5. Emptied 'system' in the march-zip and stored the new system files in that folder.
6. Flashed the updated zip in Twrp-recovery.
7. Reboot to check if it works.
8. Flashed Franco's kernel r65.